HP's New Client Configuration Manager Sends Mixed Message

HP is positioning CCM, for example, as a steppingstone to its HP OpenView enterprise-management line, saying users can leverage CCM when they move to OpenView's policy-based environment. But CCM is based on the Radia management technology HP acquired from desktop-management vendor Novadyne a couple of years ago, not OpenView.

In a published interview, an HP exec said CCM offers enterprise-class capabilities, such as automatic provisioning of new PCs, that make it "great for the large enterprise." But he also said CCM is targeted at small and midsize businesses with around 1,000 nodes. It seems unlikely small environments would need highfalutin features like autoprovisioning, let alone a quick upgrade path to OpenView. And HP still hasn't clarified the relationship between CCM and Altiris, which was HP's primary desktop-management solution.

We're guessing CCM is a good product--we just don't know who it's good for.